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Erica Quam

Cougar Chats presented by:

Chat Head Swim Coach Erica Quam on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 11 AM PT.

Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting wsucougars.com and today's online chat with WSU Swimming Coach Erica Quam. Erica, thank you for joining us today.

Erica Quam: Thank you for having me. This is my first online chat and I want to thank the people that submitted questions.

Moderator: Okay, let's get to some questions.

Cory D (Coeur D'Alene): I've recently started swimming again after swimming as a kid. What would you say are the most fundamental elements to having a strong, efficient stroke?

Erica Quam: Speaking to Cory's question, I think the most important fundamental to having a strong, efficient stroke is learning to have a high elbow on your catch underneath the water. Some people call it an "early vertical forearm." It's something that I have to constantly remind my swimmers of as they get tired. When you incorporate this in your stroke, it helps you utilize bigger muscles, like your lats and your traps, rather than relying on the smaller muscles in your shoulder and rotator cuff. One of the drills that I give my team is simply swimming with a closed fist, and trying to use your whole forearm as a paddle, keeping your wrist in line with your forearm. If you can't keep your fist closed, you can also use tennis balls or golf balls to hold. Like any drill, there are trade-offs so take it slow. Go to a set of 4 x 25 yards, with a rest in between. Then do the same set regular freestyle swimming and feel the difference in your stroke.

Junifer (Moscow): Coach Quam, how are you going to compensate for Idaho now having a diving team?

Erica Quam: The way that we compensate is by putting the strongest line-up to offset the 32 points that they will gain in diving. We have better depth on our team this year than in past years so that's what we will rely on.

Christina (Saline, MI): Do you think the Snake River Challenge gives you any indication of how the year will go? If so, what do you think?

Erica Quam: I think the Snake River Challenge gives us information about the season in the sense of the toughness of the team, and how they've trained over the summertime. I don't think there is a specific correlation in overall time because the conditions in the water can vary so much from year to year. This year the team was in the water, on average, seven minutes longer than last year, and there was a current and a headwind that I would attribute this to. What I saw this year were run times that were significantly faster than last year and that's easier to compare from year to year. Our program emphasizes commitment and dedication to training and racing during the long-course summer season. We expect our student-athletes to come back in shape with a better level of fitness than the previous year and the Snake River Challenge presents an opportunity to see if they have done that on the first day of practice. The work that they put in during the summer provides the foundation of an aerobic base and they will see those benefits in February and March at Pac-10s and NCAAs.

Moderator: Erica, can you describe what the Snake River Challenge is?

Erica Quam: Traditionally the challenge takes place on Labor Day. We start off with a 2.2 mile swim from Granite Point to the WSU Boathouse at Wawawai Landing. They transition there and run 2.2 miles back to Granite Point. I think it is the first event that bonds our team together. It's the first challenge they've experienced as a group. Our group dynamics change every year and it forms a common bond between the swimmers from day one. Many alums have come back and been able to share stories from their Snake River Challenge experiences. The tradition has been in place before I got here, at least 10 years.

Jayna (Campbell, CA): How do you decide what teams to compete against?

Erica Quam: We have several traditional teams on our schedule that our important competitors. The Pac-10 Conference is the fastest swimming conference in the country and we get to see each and every Pac-10 swimmer in February at our conference championships. We feel this prepares our swimmers, not only to race and be able to qualify for NCAAs, but also be prepared to face the competition at the NCAAs and get faster. Then we round it out with a variety of dual meets that can be different from year-to-year. This year, we wanted to get in a fast and challenging meet during the fall season and we chose to go to the University of Texas in December. They have a fast pool and fast teams who compete there every year. We want to put our swimmers in a position to race the fastest swimmers in the country to help them achieve NCAA times and we feel the meet at Texas can help get us there. We have also chosen to go to a meet in January down in Long Beach, California. It is a U.S.A Swimming Grand Prix event that will have a great field of competitors and a prelim finals situation similar to the Pac-10 and NCAA Championship format. We will be selecting a team of 12 swimmers to compete at this competition as a way to continue to prepare them for the championship season.

Moderator: Erica, could you please talk about a meet that you host on an annual basis, the Debbie Pipher Memorial Invite, which this year will be Oct. 24 & 25 at Gibb Pool.

Erica Quam: We started this meet last year in an effort to bring quality teams to Pullman. This year Notre Dame, Ohio University, Fresno State, Idaho and WSU will compete. It gives our swimmers a chance to race in front of a home crowd and to compete in an exciting two-day format that is much different than a typical dual meet line-up of events. What makes this event unique is that the scoring is designed to keep the meet close and exciting throughout both days of racing. Last year it came down to the last relay with three teams still having a shot at winning the meet. We named the meet after Debbie to commemorate her, and the many years she devoted to coaching Washington State swimming.

Moderator: And I understand there is one other addition to this year's event?

Erica Quam: Yes. We will be "Pinking Out" Gibb Pool in an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Our team will be in pink caps and we will have the Colleges against Cancer organization in attendance. They will have booths set-up and even help us in timing the races. During the 15-minute break on Friday, we will have a small presentation where swimmers will distribute pink ribbons to any breast cancer survivors in attendance. I hope everyone can make it out to Gibb Pool that weekend. The meet begins 5 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.

Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Erica, thank you once again for joining us today.

Erica Quam: I'm looking forward to our first meet this weekend. Our team has set high goals for themselves this year including getting a relay to the NCAA Championships for the first time in our program's history. I believe we have the talent and leadership on the team to be able to achieve this goal. Thank you for the opportunity for this online chat.

Moderator: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please check back to wsucougars.com for future online chats.